Nessie on Google Earth?

By William R. Toler

Fans of cryptozoology had high hopes last week when security guard Jason Cooke thought he spotted the mysterious creature while browsing satellite photos of Loch

Could the object below the circled object be the Loch Ness Monster?

Ness, according to The Sun.

For centuries, people have reported seeing a serpent-like beast in the most famous loch in Scotland.

But author Steve Alten proposed on Coast to Coast A.M. that the image, that resembles a squid, is actually a boat. Alten also believes that the infamous Nessie may be a giant eel, rather than a Plesiosaur as has been purported and promoted.

After looking at the picture a few times at Extraordinary Intelligence, I noticed something else…below the squid-shaped boat. A sliver of something heading toward…or away from the boat. Maybe that could be Nessie.

Swine flu sensationalism cause for control

By William R. Toler

As an adherent of alternative media and an employee of the mainstream media, I’ve heard enough about the swine flu to make anyone’s head spin.

With the rapid media attention and declarations that followed the initial outbreak in Mexico several months back, I began to question the whole scenario.

First off, the genetic makeup of the current strain contains elements of the regular flu, swine flu and avian flu. It seems a little inconceivable that this combination would manifest itself naturally.

Another aspect that seems mind-boggling is the media frenzy that ensued. Granted, the mainstream media is known for blowing things out of proportion, the public was whipped into mass paranoia of a virus that has killed less people than the regular flu. To top it off, those in America that died were already ill with something else.

Tobacco ban B.S.

By William R. Toler

Apparently the Sun Journal couldn’t find any smokers or anyone opposed to the ban on tobacco at Craven Community College for the article in Friday’s paper.

The article feautred several students and staff who seemed to be supportive of the ban, but the Independent Register has already reported on non-smokers who find the ban a little much.

The ban, approved by the board of trustees earlier this year, bans the use of all tobacco products. Not only that, but no advertisements are to be displayed anywhere on campus. Clubs are prohibited from taking donations from tobacco companies. It’s not like that was a common practice to begin with, but it completely outlaws it. Even student publications, such as the former Campus Communicator, can not accept advertising from tobacco companies.

So now, the Health Nazis have infiltrated CCC and are telling adults that they cannot smoke on public grounds…outside. One student interviewed for the puff piece (no pun intended) is a former smoker, but says now he can’t stand the smell of it. He went on to say, “People are going to have to realize that’s the way it’s going to be.”

Most smokers are courteous enough to go somewhere else if politely asked by someone who is bothered by smoke. But that doesn’t matter to those who want control.

Many non-smokers will say it’s for everyone’s health and it doesn’t bother me because it doesn’t affect me. Public health…isn’t that the line the Nazi’s used when they sent the Jews into the fatal shower rooms?

When will people draw the line?

In Cary, a sign of struggle

By Corey Friedman

David Bowden would rather get screwed than be silenced.

The Cary resident had a painter scrawl “Screwed by the Town of Cary” on his home during a drainage dispute with the town, the Raleigh News & Observer reported. Town leaders didn’t appreciate his blunt assessment, so they told Bowden his message violated the Cary sign ordinance and he would be fined up to $500 a day until he removed it.

David Bowden used his home as a political sign. Image courtesy of the fr33 Asheville blog

In its haste, the town overlooked — or more likely, ignored — the First Amendment, which protects such expressive efforts. The American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina rushed to the rescue, notifying Cary’s town attorney that “several provisions of the Sign Ordinance, both on their face and as applied to Mr. Bowden, are unconstitutional…”

U.S. courts have consistently ruled that free-speech rights trump government’s authority to regulate residential signs, ACLU Legal Director Katy Parker wrote in a letter to the town. Judges also frown upon selective enforcement of sign ordinances to effectively muzzle political messages with which they disagree.

‘Personal’ e-mails are public records

By Corey Friedman

Changing the return address on your sweepstakes form doesn’t make you any more (or less) likely to become an instant millionaire. Likewise, a government official writing about work can’t duck open records laws by sending messages from a personal e-mail account while on the clock.

Tony Tharp, the bold and prolific editor of independent online newspaper Pamlico Ink, is trying to make Oriental Town Manager Randy Cahoon understand this important truth. After Pamlico Ink exposed Cahoon’s tempestuous relationship with employees he supervised as manager of Gates County, Tharp requested e-mails the Oriental executive sent to his former colleagues relating to complaints about his management style.

Cahoon refused, maintaining that the e-mails were sent from a personal account and are not public records. Tharp’s reading — and mine — of the North Carolina open records law suggests he’s dead wrong.

Free speech updates

The First Amendment still exists in eastern North Carolina…for now. The following reports come from WCTI-12.

Phipps' Gallows

Last week, District Attorney Dewey Hudson announced that Lacy Phipps could not be charged with anything for his display of local and state justice officials hanging in effigy in Duplin County.

Hudson was one of those represented in the gallows along with former governor and state attorney general Mike Easley, plus a local judge and sheriff among others. “What Mr. Phipps has done, although distasteful, it is protected by the 1st Amendment,” Hudson told reporters.

What if Obama was African-born?

By Richard C. Evey
Libertarian/Patriot

There has been talk about AKA and whether he was born in the United States or Kenya. Just to make it clear, AKA is the guy who lives in the White House. During his

President Barack "AKA" Obama

life, he has had seven aliases.

The mainstream media has been talking about this off and on for the past few months; only when there is little else to talk about 24 hours a day. The issue has been gaining strength throughout the country and the world.

The DINOs — Democrats in name only — are all upset with certain media for even talking about the issue, saying that he was elected, sworn in and is in the White House, and that makes it good. The RINOs talk about it just because they want to run their mouths and have to keep hammering on AKA, just like the DINOs did to Bush.